Wednesday, May 28, 2014

We tried this recipe tonight and loved it, especially the heat from the Sriracha Sauce. It looked like a typical stir fry when I started it but it definitely tasted better than the ones I usually make.

I didn't change much from the original recipe, except that I cut the carrots instead of shredding them (I only had baby carrots and I wasn't shredding those tiny things because it would take me all night). Also, I didn't cook the chicken myself, I bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and used the white meat and put the rest aside for another meal this week. I used a full tablespoon of the Siracha which was perfect for my husband and I, but I think it was a little on the hot side for Leena so I might tone it down a bit next time.

All in all, I would recommend this meal and will definitely be making it again.

Before you begin, prepare the meat and vegetables for stir frying. Peel the ginger with either a vegetable peeler or the side of a spoon and then grate it with a cheese grater. Peel and grate the carrots with a large holed cheese grater. Remove the core from the cabbage and cut into thin strips. Slice the onion into thin strips. Cut the broccoli into bite-sized pieces. Slice the chicken into thin strips.

Begin boiling a medium pot full of water for the noodles. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the grated ginger, saute for about 30 seconds to one minute (its okay if it sticks to the pan but don’t let it burn). Add the chicken strips and cook until they are no longer pink (about five minutes).

Once the chicken is cooked through, add all of the vegetables. Stir and cook until wilted (about 5-10 minutes). Meanwhile, once the water boils, add the noodles and cook just until tender (2-3 minutes). Drain, return to the pot (with the heat turned off) and toss with the sesame oil to keep from sticking.

In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, ketchup, sriracha, and sugar. Use only ½ tsp of sriracha if you don’t want it spicy, use up to 1 Tbsp if you like it hot. Stir until the ketchup and sugar are dissolved. Pour the sauce into the skillet with the chicken and vegetables with the heat still on medium high. Add the noodles, stir to coat everything in the sauce, and heat through (just a few minutes).

Thursday, May 22, 2014

This was amazing. My husband LOVED it and said it's probably the best thing I've made. It's so flavorful and super easy to make. I did double to recipe so that there would be leftovers and I'm glad I did because this was gobbled up quickly. Definitely adding it to the rotation.

30 Minute Chicken Piccata
Serves: 4

Ingredients

¾ pound dried spaghetti pasta

¾ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

2 eggs

¼ cup of 2% milk

4 chicken tenderloins, pounded out to thin, flat pieces

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup chicken stock

¼ cup capers, rinsed

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

Salt & pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a large stockpot, bring water to boil and cook spaghetti according to the instructions on the box.

In two separate shallow containers, add the breadcrumbs to one container and whisk the eggs and milk together in the other.

Take
a piece of the flattened chicken tenderloin and dip both sides in the
egg/milk mixture, then cover in breadcrumbs. Shake to remove the excess.
Repeat until all the chicken pieces have been covered in breadcrumbs.

In
a large skillet, over medium high, melt 1 tbsp. of butter then place
two covered chicken pieces into the skillet. Let it get nice and brown
on one side before flipping, about 2 minutes. Repeat with the other two
chicken pieces and 1 tbsp. of butter. Place cooked chicken on a plate
and set aside.

Turn
heat down to medium, melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and add the
chicken stock and lemon juice, scraping the bottom of the skillet to get
all the browned bits off. Add in the capers and let simmer for 5
minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Your
pasta should be ready and drained at this time so add the pasta to the
sauce and toss to coat evenly. Place pasta on a platter and place
chicken on top. With whatever sauce you may have left over, pour on top
of chicken and pasta.

This was so delicious, and I will definitely be making it again. Everyone loved it, including the picky kiddo. It's a good way to sneak in lots of veggies. I even added a little more carrots and celery than the recipe called for. The recipe makes enough to freeze for later, and I think it will freeze really well. Very yummy with grilled cheese sandwiches or crusty bread.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

So these were just okay. Not bad but not great either. I like my cookies chewy (like how it is pictured on the original site) and these came out puffy and soft. If that's how you like your cookies then this might be for you.

My only change would be that I'd add more Snickers next time because some of the cookies didn't even have any bits of Snickers in them.

Snickers Chocolate ChipCookies

Yields about 30 cookies

Ingredients

2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt

1 cup salted butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups light-brown sugar

1/4 granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

6 - 8 oz Snickers candy bars, chopped (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups)**

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped, unsalted or lightly salted peanuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat
oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour,
cornstarch, baking soda and salt for 30 seconds, set aside. In the bowl
of an electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, whip
together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until pale and fluffy.
Stir in eggs one at a time mixing until combined after each addition.
Blend in vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry
ingredients and mix just until combined. Add in chopped Snickers,
chocolate chips and peanuts and blend on low speed just until mixed in.

Shape
dough into balls about 3 Tbsp each (45 g) and place on a
parchment paper lined baking sheet spacing at least 2 inches apart. Bake
in preheated oven 10 - 12 minutes until edges are lightly golden.
Remove from oven and allow to cool several minutes before transferring
to a wire rack to cool. Store in an airtight container.

**
I diced each of the Snickers bites into quarters. I love that I didn't
have to unwrap lots of minis but if you cant find the bites the minis
would work fine.

Wow. This was really good. Cam even asked for "more leaves." It seems like kind of an odd combination, but it's not. It is very reminiscent of something I've had at some restaurant, but I can't pinpoint it. It's driving me nuts. Perfect for lunch or a light dinner. I'm putting this in the regular rotation for sure!

1. Heat a large skillet over medium­high heat. Cut chicken in half (like your butterflying it), so that you have two
thin breasts. Place chicken in the hot skillet, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until browned. Turn chicken over, and
cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until cooked through. Remove to a cutting board and cool until your can easily
handle the chicken. Thinly slice the chicken breast halves.

4. Place spinach, chicken, almonds, and feta in a large bowl. Drizzle with salad dressing. Toss to combine. Serve
immediately.
Recipe by White Lights on Wednesday at http://www.whitelightsonwednesday.com/2014/05/spinach­apple­chicken­salad/

*For our chicken, I seasoned with fresh minced garlic, salt and pepper and we grilled it.

In the same pot, add the veggies and soup to the beef. Mix until ingredients are well incorporated. I added about ½ cup milk and ¼ cup sour cream to make the mixture a little looser and have a little more flavor. (Note-Lots of substitutions can be made at this point as far as soup flavors or veggies. Cream of Mushroom is one that is commonly used in this casserole)

Pour mixture into casserole dish on top of the tater tots and spread out

Sprinkle cheddar cheese over the top of mixture

Top with remaining tater tots to completely cover and top with more cheese if desired

Normally we just add some seasoning to our salmon but I was looking for something a little different (and more flavorful) so I thought I'd give this a shot. We really liked it and the sauce can be made in minutes. I served it with rice and garlic bread but I think some green beans or a salad would be great with it too. Great dish for summer!

Baked Salmon with Honey Dijon and Garlic

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

2 10-12 ounce fresh salmon (cleaned, pin-bones removed)

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped

3 tbsp. honey Dijon mustard

Juice of half a lemon

A pinch of salt

⅛ cup of olive oil

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a large baking sheet with foil. Place salmon pieces on top of the foil and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together garlic, parsley, honey Dijon, lemon juice, salt, and olive oil. Whisk well until well-combined then using a pastry brush, brush on the sauce onto the salmon pieces.

Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes (or depending on how thick your slices of salmon are, you may need to reduce the time by 2-3 minutes or increase it by 2-3 minutes - just keep an eye on it!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Really grease it or your tortillas will stick.

In a mixing bowl combine the cooked and shredded chicken with ½ cup of the salsa verde.

Warm the tortillas lightly. Warm tortillas roll better but don't make them too hot or they fall apart

Spoon a thin line of the chicken-salsa verde mixture into a corn tortilla and wrap tightly and place seam side down in the baking dish. Repeat until the chicken, tortillas are used up and the baking dish is packed full of enchiladas. Pour the remaining salsa verde sauce over the top and then sprinkle about 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded cheese on top.

Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until cheese has melted and salsa verde is bubbling.

Serve warm Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas with side of rice and refried beans.

Cook your chicken in a slow cooker for 6 hours. Season as you like - I used garlic, onion, and rosemary and cooked it in chicken broth.

I loved it as is but I'm not into very spicy food. My husband wanted more salsa to spice it up, but he liked it a lot.

It wasn't until I was typing this up that I realized I completely missed that I was supposed to use the lime zest. It was still awesome. There is heat and sweet and fresh, all without covering up the salmon flavor. Definitely a new favorite here, especially since these are ingredients I always have on hand. The dish comes together very quickly. Maybe 10 minutes of prep and less than 20 to cook.

{need}

Juice and zest of 1/2 lime

1tablespoonmaple syrup

1 1/2teaspoonstsp sriracha sauce

1/2teaspooncoarse sea salt

1 1/4lbspounds salmon fillet, skin removed

2tablespoonscoarsely chopped cilantro

{do}

Heat oven to 425°. In a bowl, whisk together juice, zest, syrup, sriracha and salt. Place salmon in a baking dish lined with parchment paper; pour lime-maple mixture over top. Roast salmon until cooked through and flaky, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro; serve.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Contributed by Molly HildebrandtWe really enjoyed these, definitely will be in the regular rotation. The kids ate them, just deconstructed. I'm not an avocado fan, so I omitted that from the original recipe, but if you like avocado, I'm certain it would add another layer of texture. I would say, start to finish, this took about 40 minutes. However, some of the prep work could be done ahead of time like making the salsa and sour cream sauce.

Heat the grill to medium- hot. Season with oil and seasoning. Grill the fillets until the fish is golden brown on the outside and no longer translucent in the center, 3-4 minutes per side. Fish is done when it flakes when tested with a fork. Flake fish into chunks.

While the fish is cooking, combine sour cream, lime juice, cumin, and chili powder; set aside. Genty toss the mango, onion, garlic, jalepeno, and cilantro with the remaining lime juice.